Sex Differences in the Inferior Parietal Lobule

The inferior parietal lobule (IPL) – a neocortical region and part of the heteromodal association cortex (HASC) – has been hypothesized to exhibit sexual dimorphism, as do other HASC regions, particularly with regard to asymmetry. Using a reliable method for measuring IPL gray matter volume based up...

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Published inCerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. 1991) Vol. 9; no. 8; pp. 896 - 901
Main Authors Frederikse, Melissa E., Lu, Angela, Aylward, Elizabeth, Barta, Patrick, Pearlson, Godfrey
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Oxford University Press 01.12.1999
Oxford Publishing Limited (England)
Subjects
Adult
Female
Functional Laterality
Humans
inferior parietal lobule
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Middle Aged
Parietal Lobe - anatomy & histology
Sex Factors
Online AccessGet full text
ISSN1047-3211
1460-2199
1460-2199
DOI10.1093/cercor/9.8.896

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Summary:The inferior parietal lobule (IPL) – a neocortical region and part of the heteromodal association cortex (HASC) – has been hypothesized to exhibit sexual dimorphism, as do other HASC regions, particularly with regard to asymmetry. Using a reliable method for measuring IPL gray matter volume based upon individual sulcal–gyral landmarks, we measured this region on magnetic resonance imaging scans from a sample of 15 individually matched pairs of normal male and female subjects. Male subjects showed significantly larger left, but not right, IPL volumes when compared to females. Males also showed a leftward (left > right) asymmetry for the IPL, with a less marked opposite asymmetry in females. Such sexual dimorphisms may possibly underlie the subtle cognitive differences observed between the sexes.
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Address correspondence to Godfrey D. Pearlson, MD, Division of Psychiatric Neuro-Imaging, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins Medical University School of Medicine, 600 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA. Email: godfr@jhmi.edu.
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ISSN:1047-3211
1460-2199
1460-2199
DOI:10.1093/cercor/9.8.896